The other side of the Freedom/tobacco story

[SamFritz]

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV... but I do like to read passages carefully and analyze their content. Look at these two quotes from the Cruise Critic Story:

 

"Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez told Cruise Critic that the item tested positive for a controlled substance in a field test conducted by RCI security and witnessed by Port Canaveral police officers."

"Port officials agree that the contraband was tobacco and not an illegal substance. Port Canaveral spokeswoman Rosalind Harvey tells Cruise Critic that the test, which she also says was witnessed by officers, came up negative. "What appeared to be a typical baggy of cannabis and a chamber-type pipe turned out to be Hookah herb," explained Harvey in an e-mail. "A chemical test was conducted on the herb, which showed negative for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)."

Is it possible that RC tested for a broad range of controlled substances with some non-specific test? Then the PC officials looked at it and tested it only for THC because it looked like pot? They only mention a THC test. So could the tobacco have been "laced" some other chemicals? If so, both RC and PC could be telling the truth.

 

I'm no expert on this stuff, but it's just a thought.

[bigeagle12]

Ok one more point .. this guy is 42 years old .. not some foolish 18 or 22 year old .. me thinks he knew exactly what he was doing :eek:

[aurelius180]

Ok one more point .. this guy is 42 years old .. not some foolish 18 or 22 year old .. me thinks he knew exactly what he was doing :eek:

 

 

He did. From the CC article:

 

Because Hookah Herb could be mistaken for marijuana, Robert said he chose to conceal the bag. "Looking back, hiding it might not have been a good idea," he deadpanned.

[Heidils]

Whether you side with the passengers or RCCL, here are the facts:

 

1. The husband packed tobacco in a container that had a hidden compartment.

2. The port security found this hidden tobacco, causing them to be suspicious of a possible illegal substance, tested it, and at that time, by the results of their test, deemed it was an illegal substance.

3. The family was removed from the ship.

4. The tobacco was later retested and found to be just that, tobacco.

5. By contract, the Captain has the right to deny boarding due to his judgement of the family being a potential risk. The Captain exercised that right.

 

I'm really sorry for the OP and her husband for not getting to take the cruise BUT had the husband not initiated the original mistake of hiding his tobacco, NONE of this would have taken place. Everything else that occurred after the hiding of the tobacco was the result of his "bad decision." After his "bad decision" nothing happend to this family that would not have happened to any other passengers.

 

Would I be unhappy if this happened to me, heck yes I would BUT I am also one that understands that I am personally responsible for my own actions. If I break a rule or do something to make myself look suspicious, I understand I could be denied boarding, it's in the contract and the contract is written for me and everyone else to follow.

 

Tim

 

 

No rules broken...You look funny to me....suspicious! Pull over, you can't go on your cruisel How's that feel?

[Ocean Boy]

I'm gonna call this The Herpes Thread, no matter what you do, it won't go away!!:eek:

 

Well, I have just one word for that...... Valtrex.

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV... but I do like to read passages carefully and analyze their content. Look at these two quotes from the Cruise Critic Story:

 

"Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez told Cruise Critic that the item tested positive for a controlled substance in a field test conducted by RCI security and witnessed by Port Canaveral police officers."

 

"Port officials agree that the contraband was tobacco and not an illegal substance. Port Canaveral spokeswoman Rosalind Harvey tells Cruise Critic that the test, which she also says was witnessed by officers, came up negative. "What appeared to be a typical baggy of cannabis and a chamber-type pipe turned out to be Hookah herb," explained Harvey in an e-mail. "A chemical test was conducted on the herb, which showed negative for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)."

 

Is it possible that RC tested for a broad range of controlled substances with some non-specific test? Then the PC officials looked at it and tested it only for THC because it looked like pot? They only mention a THC test. So could the tobacco have been "laced" some other chemicals? If so, both RC and PC could be telling the truth.

 

I'm no expert on this stuff, but it's just a thought.

 

Crazy people are willing to smoke lots of stuff, some of which contains no THC.:eek:

 

Ever hear of "getting Wet" or "smoking Wet-Wet"???? It's regular tobacco from cigarettes soaked in PCP. No THC in it:

 

WET:

"They’re advertising to a specific kind of customer, one who’s not here to cop heroin or coke (though those are available in abundance if they want them), a customer who’s looking, instead, to get “wetted up.” These are customers who want a high that includes hallucinations and, not infrequently, a psychotic episode. By morning light, some of them will be strapped to gurneys in inpatient psych units, wards of the city’s Crisis Response Centers—psychiatric emergency rooms acting as triage units for the homicidal and suicidal.

These patients, many of them teens, are early adopters in what law enforcement authorities and mental health professionals worry is the beginning of a surge in PCP use, spawned by a convenient new way of consuming the powerful drug: by dissolving it in liquid and soaking cigarettes with it so that it can be smoked on the fly."

[BecciBoo]

NEWS FLASH!!!!

I just received a personal call from the office of Richard Fain regarding my email about Tobaccogate. An assistant reveals that the field test RCCL used was indeed a different one from the one the port authority used. He says RCCL's test is much more "broad spectrum" and did test positive for a questionable substance. He said the ships Captain was only concerned with this first test that was done. He was not allowed to make a determination of guilt or intention on the part of the cruisers but just wanted to reassure me that our cruise would be a wonderful vacation and not to be alarmed about this incident.

Now to those who think it was dumb to email them, they DO indeed read Cruise Critic and care what their passengers think. I thought that was really something to get a call about such a "Lame" concern.:cool: Thanks RCCL.

And to Hagar360z....

 

 

 

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

Well, I have just one word for that...... Valtrex.

 

Sorry, fresh out....:D;)

[lori450]

NEWS FLASH!!!!

I just received a personal call from the office of Richard Fain regarding my email about Tobaccogate. An assistant reveals that the field test RCCL used was indeed a different one from the one the port authority used. He says RCCL's test is much more "broad spectrum" and did test positive for a questionable substance. He said the ships Captain was only concerned with this first test that was done. He was not allowed to make a determination of guilt or intention on the part of the cruisers but just wanted to reassure me that our cruise would be a wonderful vacation and not to be alarmed about this incident.

Now to those who think it was dumb to email them, they DO indeed read Cruise Critic and care what their passengers think. I thought that was really something to get a call about such a "Lame" concern.:cool: Thanks RCCL.

And to Hagar360z....

 

 

 

 

 

thank you!

[bigeagle12]

He did. From the CC article:

 

Because Hookah Herb could be mistaken for marijuana, Robert said he chose to conceal the bag. "Looking back, hiding it might not have been a good idea," he deadpanned.

 

My point ... I still think it was Spice or some other form of synthetic marijuana

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

NEWS FLASH!!!!

 

I just received a personal call from the office of Richard Fain regarding my email about Tobaccogate. An assistant reveals that the field test RCCL used was indeed a different one from the one the port authority used. He says RCCL's test is much more "broad spectrum" and did test positive for a questionable substance. He said the ships Captain was only concerned with this first test that was done. He was not allowed to make a determination of guilt or intention on the part of the cruisers but just wanted to reassure me that our cruise would be a wonderful vacation and not to be alarmed about this incident.

 

Now to those who think it was dumb to email them, they DO indeed read Cruise Critic and care what their passengers think. I thought that was really something to get a call about such a "Lame" concern.:cool: Thanks RCCL.

 

And to Hagar360z....

 

 

 

 

SHOCKER...not! Naughty Naughty OP!!!:cool:

[lori450]

Well, I'm certainly getting an education in drugs here. I never heard of most of this stuff. What is spice? synthetic marijuana??? I never knew that existed.

[Aquahound]

Is it possible that RC tested for a broad range of controlled substances with some non-specific test? Then the PC officials looked at it and tested it only for THC because it looked like pot? They only mention a THC test. So could the tobacco have been "laced" some other chemicals? If so, both RC and PC could be telling the truth.

 

Hi Sam. :) You may be on to something. The most common police field test kit is made by NIK. They have a specific test for THC, but also have a general test that, according to the results, steers you toward another specific test. This may explain the op's account of 3 tests. It tested negative for THC....then the general test which steered them back to the THC test, then another negative THC result. (By the way, this is not to be taken as anything other than speculation). This also plays in to my original theory. This is exactly what spice would do. However, this is probably also what the hookah tobacco would do.

[bajathree]

Well, I'm certainly getting an education in drugs here. I never heard of most of this stuff. What is spice? synthetic marijuana??? I never knew that existed.

 

Lauri...I posted this earlier in the thread:

 

Synthetic cannabis is a psychoactive herbal and chemical product that, when consumed, allegedly mimics the effects of cannabis. It is best known by the brand names K2[1] and Spice,[2] both of which have largely become genericized trademarks used to refer to any synthetic cannabis product. (It is also for this reason that synthetic cannabis is often referred to as spice product, due to the latter.) A type of synthetic cannabis sold in Australasia is known as Kronic.

Research on the safety of synthetic cannabis is only now becoming available. Initial studies are focused on the role of synthetic cannabis and psychosis. It seems likely that synthetic cannabis can precipitate psychosis and in some cases it is prolonged. These studies suggest that synthetic cannabinoid intoxication is associated with acute psychosis, worsening of previously stable psychotic disorders, and also may have the ability to trigger a chronic (long-term) psychotic disorder among vulnerable individuals such as those with a family history of mental illness.[3][4]

When synthetic cannabis blends first went on sale in the early 2000s, it was thought that they achieved an effect through a mixture of legal herbs. Laboratory analysis in 2008 showed that this is not the case, and that they in fact contain synthetic cannabinoids that act on the body in a similar way to cannabinoids naturally found in cannabis, such as THC. A large and complex variety of synthetic cannabinoids, most often cannabicyclohexanol, JWH-018, JWH-073, or HU-210, are used in an attempt to avoid the laws that make cannabis illegal, making synthetic cannabis a designer drug. It has been sold under various brand names, online, in head shops, and at some gas stations.

It is often marketed as "herbal incense"; however, some brands market their products as "herbal smoking blends". In either case, the products are usually smoked by users. Although synthetic cannabis does not produce positive results in drug tests for cannabis, it is possible to detect its metabolites in human urine. The synthetic cannabinoids contained in synthetic cannabis products have been made illegal in many European countries. On November 24, 2010, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would use emergency powers to ban many synthetic cannabinoids within a month.[5] Prior to the announcement, several US states had already made them illegal under state law. As of March 1, 2011, five cannabinoids, JWH-018, JWH-073, CP-47,497, JWH-200, and cannabicyclohexanol are now illegal in the US because these substances have the potential to be extremely harmful and, therefore, pose an imminent hazard to the public safety.[6][7]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_cannabis

[bajathree]

Hi Sam. :) You may be on to something. The most common police field test kit is made by NIK. They have a specific test for THC, but also have a general test that, according to the results, steers you toward another specific test. This may explain the op's account of 3 tests. It tested negative for THC....then the general test which steered them back to the THC test, then another negative THC result. (By the way, this is not to be taken as anything other than speculation). This also plays in to my original theory. This is exactly what spice would do. However, this is probably also what the hookah tobacco would do.

 

Paul...you are an abundance of knowledge on this thread:)

[jonbgd]

NEWS FLASH!!!!

 

I just received a personal call from the office of Richard Fain regarding my email about Tobaccogate. An assistant reveals that the field test RCCL used was indeed a different one from the one the port authority used. He says RCCL's test is much more "broad spectrum" and did test positive for a questionable substance. He said the ships Captain was only concerned with this first test that was done. He was not allowed to make a determination of guilt or intention on the part of the cruisers but just wanted to reassure me that our cruise would be a wonderful vacation and not to be alarmed about this incident.

 

Now to those who think it was dumb to email them, they DO indeed read Cruise Critic and care what their passengers think. I thought that was really something to get a call about such a "Lame" concern.:cool: Thanks RCCL.

 

And to Hagar360z....

 

 

 

why would you get a phone call?????

[johneeo]

NEWS FLASH!!!! He says RCCL's test is much more "broad spectrum" and did test positive for a questionable substance.

 

 

Stop the presses!

 

Broad spectrum:confused: Questionable substance?:confused:

 

Uh, could we be just a bit more specific?

[BecciBoo]

He said because of my email, which I mentioned on the original thread. SIZE]

[Heidils]

Good post but respectfully, #4 cannot be fact. There is no test for tobacco and it is impossible to find a substance to be tobacco.

 

All that we know is that the substance did not test positive for marijuana.

 

So...I'm curious. Since it was tested for mj and found that it wasn't present....do we keep testing?

 

This couple may have invoked the cruise Gods and said or did things wrong. If so, I'm happy they kept passengers safer. Being said, it's kind of weird from what we are heaing that they went so far. I suppose we don't know the whole story. I think what most of us are wondering is how far does this go and could it happen to me?

[BecciBoo]

Stop the presses!

 

Broad spectrum:confused: Questionable substance?:confused:

 

Uh, could we be just a bit more specific?

 

I asked but he said he could not go into detail. I then said, "I guess the couple WAS trying to smuggle something." and he said he could not comment regarding that.

[BecciBoo]

why would you get a phone call?????

 

If you don't believe me that's your choice, but the phone number on my cell was from 305-539-6000. Should I have recorded it for you?

[Aquahound]

So...I'm curious. Since it was tested for mj and found that it wasn't present....do we keep testing?

 

This couple may have invoked the cruise Gods and said or did things wrong. If so, I'm happy they kept passengers safer. Being said, it's kind of weird from what we are heaing that they went so far. I suppose we don't know the whole story. I think what most of us are wondering is how far does this go and could it happen to me?

 

I honestly believe they thought the substance was spice, which does not have a field test. I am only drawing this conclusion using common sense and my knowledge of the topic.

 

As a future passenger, the lesson learned for you is, don't make a legal substance look illegal. Just applying a little common sense goes a long way. This stuff may very well have been legal tobacco, but the passengers intentional attempt to conceal it, and the manner in which he did it, came back to bite him in the arse.

[karatemom2]

Well as eager as she was to comment in her original thread, the OP's silence at this point is deafening. Guess she has "No Comment" now that the rest of the story is coming out. Seems she used this board as a platform when she could control the conversation, but now is nowhere to be seen. :rolleyes:

[jonbgd]

If you don't believe me that's your choice, but the phone number on my cell was from 305-539-6000. Should I have recorded it for you?

 

Do you have a personal connection or something????

 

No disrespect but why would they call you and divulge private information?

[bigeagle12]

If you don't believe me that's your choice, but the phone number on my cell was from 305-539-6000. Should I have recorded it for you?

 

The one time I emailed I got a call too .. from a VP of Operations or something like that .. actually talked for 15 to 20 minutes.